Monthly Archives: March 2015

I’ve run across some VERY interesting studies recently on the relationship between coconut oil (or any type of coconut fat, including coconut milk and cream) and how it can affect your body fat…

The findings may surprise you!

A 2009 study published in the Journal Lipids consisted of testing the effects of either 2 tablespoons of coconut oil or 2 tablespoons of soybean on a group of 40 women over the span of 28 days.

Results showed that the group that ate the coconut oil had a decrease in abdominal fat, while the soybean oil group actually showed a slight increase in belly fat. Additionally,
the group that ate the coconut oil showed increased HDL ‘good’ cholesterol levels,
while the soybean oil group had decreased HDL cholesterol and increased LDL ‘ bad’ cholesterol.

The Journal of Nutrition published a study where researchers investigated all studies relative to medium chain fatty acids (MCFAs) that are abundant in coconut fat and weight management.

The studies showed that diets rich in fats such as those found in coconut oil prompted a boost in metabolism, increase in energy, decrease in food consumption, reduced body weight and lower body fat mass. The study authors highly recommend using oils that contain MCFAs, such as coconut oil, as a tool to drop extra abdominal fat, manage a healthy weight, and even as a way to treat obesity.

Yet another study that assessed body weight and fat storage relative to three different types of diets including a low-fat diet, high-fat diet with long chain fatty acids (LCFAs) and a high fat diet with MCFAs.

In order to bring about weight gain, caloric intakes were adjusted for the diets. At the end of the research period (which lasted 44 days), the low-fat diet group stored an average of 0.47 grams of fat per day, the LCFA group stored 0.48 grams of fat per day, and the MCFA group only stored a mere 0.19 grams per day (despite purposely increasing calories).

Those in the MCFA group (coconut fat) had a 60 percent reduction in body fat stored compared to the other diets.

Another added bonus of consuming organic coconut oil (and coconut cream or milk) is that it tends to make us feel fuller for longer.

Studies indicate that MCFAs help increase feelings of fullness and lead to a reduction in calorie intake when compared to the same amount of calories from other fats. When MCFAs are metabolized, ketone bodies are created in the liver – these have been shown to have a strong appetite reducing effect helping you to lose fat faster.

If you thought from reading about how using coconut oil daily for helping to reduce abdominal fat is pretty incredible, you’re going to be blown away by the powerful health benefits of coconut oil on the page below…

Extra virgin olive oil (EVOO), long-known for its heart health benefits, has now been identified for its rapid destruction of cancer cells. While scientists have proven that the oleocanthal compound found in EVOO causes cell death in cancer cells, they have been unable to provide an explanation for this phenomenon until now. Paul Breslin, David Foster, and Onica LeGendre offer answers in their paper “(-)-Oleocanthal Rapidly and Selectively Induces Cancer Cell Death Via Lysosomal Membrane Permeabilization (LMP),” published in Molecular & Cellular Oncology.

In their recent study, the researchers discovered that the key to understanding the toxic effect of oleocantha in cancerous cells lies in its reaction with the lysosomes of the cell, where the cells store waste: the oleocantha ruptures the cancer cell lysosomes causing cell death within 30 minutes to an hour while leaving un-cancerous cells unharmed. This suggests that the lysosomal membranes of cancerous cells are weaker than those of uncancerous cells. Because of oleocantha’s targeted damage to cancer cells, it may prove an ideal option for therapeutic cancer treatment. Paul Breslin, co-author of the study, said “The mechanism of killing cancer cells and sparing healthy cells, lysosomal membrane permeabilization, has been hypothesized as a possible mechanism of effectively killing cancer cells and sparing healthy tissues but has never been realized before. Our realization of this makes this paper of particular therapeutic interest for cancer treatment.”

The study’s focus on the effect of oleocantha on cancerous and un-cancerous cells leads to larger implications about the health benefits of the Mediterranean diet, which is rich in EVOO. Breslin stated, “the Mediterranean diet is known to be associated with a reduced risk of many different kinds of cancer. Whereas the entire diet likely has many benefits, this study points directly to the olive oil phenolic, oleocanthal, as playing an especially important role in these observations. As more people turn to the Mediterranean diet as a healthy life option, oleocanthal is growing in its significance as a key active component of this diet.”

9th edition

Olive Oil : the key to Curing Cancer?

Extra virgin olive oil (EVOO), long-known for its heart health benefits, has now been identified for its rapid destruction of cancer cells.Read it all…

Benefits of Coconut Oil

I’ve run across some VERY interesting studies recently on the relationship between coconut oil (or any type of coconut fat, including coconut milk and cream) and how it can affect your body fat…Read it all….

Food Theory for Healthy Living: 80% Alkaline/ 20% Acid

What is Acetyl L-Carnitine?

Studies have shown Acetyl-L-Carnitine can slow the progression of age-related mental decline and may be used to form neurotransmitters.

Acetyl-L-Carnitine is a carnitine derivative and an ammonium compound derived from the amino acid Lysine. Both Acetyl L-Carnitine and L-Carnitine are used by the body to transport long chain fatty acids to the mitochondria in your cells, where they are burned for energy. Since this fat burning is such a major source of muscular energy, deficiencies in either compound are manifested as low energy levels and muscular weakness. Acetyl-L-Carnitine deficiencies can also appear as mental confusion or cloudiness.

Health Benefits Of Acetyl L-Carnitine

Over the last decade, there has been an increase in studies of the aging mind. Many of these studies have shown that Acetyl-L-Carnitine can either slow the onset and progression of age-related mental decline or it may alleviate some of the symptoms associated with it.

Regarding age-related low mood, Acetyl-L-Carnitine seems to work in much the same way as it may with mental decline. Simply put, it may increase the levels of various neurotransmitters and thereby alleviate some of the symptoms of age-related low mood.

Acetyl-L-Carnitine may also be beneficial to both cardio function and nervous system decline which results from poor blood-sugar regulation.

The simple technique of ‘deep breathing’ can make a powerful
contribution to feeling good and being fit and well.

Our bodies need an abundance of physical and mental energy
to be able to function at their best.
The energy source is food,but food is useless without oxygen,
which is the key to our power. The more oxygen we deliver to
our cells, the more energy we will have.

Breathing is the way we obtain oxygen and the benefits of
periodic deep-breathing are enormous.
However, if our breathing is shallow, we cripple the functioning
of our systems.
When the oxygen supply to our lungs is not sufficient, it can
contribute to illnesses, both physical and mental.

Posture is important for proper breathing.
Most of us spend time bent over a desk or bench or walk and
stand with rounded shoulders. The chest is partially collapsed
and hardly moving.

People who have a stooped posture with shoulders hunched
forward, tend to breath using only the lower part of their chest,
which is called diaphragmatic breathing.
As a result, the rib-cage remain partially collapsed and loses
mobility, eventually making proper breathing virtually impossible.

If the lungs cannot pump a sufficient amount of air into the body,
the bloodstream will not be sufficient cleansed of its main
exhaust gas, which is carbon dioxide.
As a result, the blood returns with a mixture of oxygen and an
excessive level of acidic carbon dioxide: ‘exhaust fumes’.

If the body is short of oxygen it cannot function properly, including
digestion, assimilation of nutrients and elimination of wastes.
The accumulating wastes add to the congestion in the bloodstream,
increasing its acidity and further reducing its oxygen carrying
capacity and thus a vicious cycle is created.

As a result, the eliminative organs cannot cope with the level of
waste products and some will be discharged via the sweat glands
in the skin, producing body odour.
Other wastes may be discharged via heavy mucus secretion
in the nose, sinuses, bronchial tubes, lungs or digestive tract and
we will then say we have cold, sinusitis, bronchitis, pneumonia,
gastritis or colitis respectively.

Lack of oxygen also means incomplete combustion of fuels:
carbohydrates and fat, leading to lethargy and a further
accumulation of acidic waste products,a condition we call ‘toxaemia’.

Our brain, which requires much more oxygen to function properly
than the rest of our body, suffers first and thinking becomes sluggish
and unclear.

Shallow breathing can cause a range of emotional and physical
disorders and psychosomatic symptoms.
When we try to avoid feeling of emotional trauma, we hold our breath,
pause or breathe shallowly and this pattern of breath avoidance
becomes a habit.

The compromised respiration reinforces chronic tension , which
further suppresses full respiration.The results can be debilitating,
and emotional responses are becoming increasingly inhibited.
The body looses energy , organs and tissues are adversely affected
and our immune responses weaken.

From the physical point of view, shallow breathing does not deliver
an adequate change of air at the base of the lungs, where two-
thirds of lung capacity is located.
Through shallow breathing many people are starving themselves
of oxygen.

Salt increases physical performance in resistance competitions

Source: Plataforma SINC

Summary:
The effectiveness of salt on sports performance in triathletes has been evaluated by researchers. The athletes who added this supplement to their usual hydration routines during the competition took 26 minutes less to complete a medium-distance triathlon course than those who only used sports

Spanish researchers have analyzed the effectiveness of salt on sports performance in triathletes. The athletes who added this supplement to their usual hydration routines during the competition took 26 minutes less to complete a medium-distance triathlon course than those who only used sports drinks.

Related Articles

Maintaining a suitable balance of water and electrolytes (mainly sodium and chloride) is essential for the functioning of all organs. Human beings compensate for their daily loss with the water and salts provided by their diet’s food and drinks.

“However, doing exercise (especially resistance sports and activities carried out in the heat) can compromise the regulation of water and electrolytes,” explains Juan del Coso Garrigós, researcher at the Camilo José Cela University (UCJC) and lead author of a study on the effect of salt on sports performance, to SINC.

Scientists from the Exercise Physiology Laboratory at UCJC have analysed the effectiveness of the salt capsules during a Half Ironman, a medium-distance triathlon race which consists of 1.9 km of swimming, 90 km of cycling and 21.1 km of athletics. Their study has just been published in the ‘Scandinavian Journal of Medicine & Science in Sports’.

During the research, a group of triathletes ingested, as well as the rehydration drinks that they usually drank, 12 salt capsules divided into three doses during the competition, with the aim of replacing 71% of the sodium lost through sweat.

Their results were compared to those of another group of athletes of the same age, experience and with better times previously in a Half Ironman, who during the competition drank sports drinks and capsules filled with a placebo, and therefore, only replaced 20% of the lost sodium.

The triathletes who had ingested the salt ended the competition 26 minutes before the control group on average. Above all their running and cycling speeds improved. “This positive effect on performance relates to an increase in the concentration of electrolytes in the blood, making them drink more fluids during the race (as salt stimulates thirst) and improves the water and electrolyte balances during the competition,” adds Del Coso.

As the specialist mentions, sports drinks do not replace 100% of the electrolytes lost through sweat. Nevertheless, for the majority of sports activities lasting less than two hours, the electrolytes that they do contain are sufficient to maintain performance and avoid imbalances.

Not just any liquid can be used as a replacement

Sweating is the main mechanism for losing body heat. Sweat glands filter the blood plasma (which contains 142 milliequivalents per litre (mEq/L) of sodium) to obtain a hypotonic fluid, sweat, which evaporates through the skin and dissipates heat.

On the other hand, body water and electrolytes are lost through sweat. In healthy people the filtration in the glands reduces the concentration of sodium in sweat to 40-60 mEq/L. For this reason, the main aim of rehydration in sport is to replace lost water and electrolytes.

“If we choose a mineral water as a rehydration drink in sport (which contains 2 mEq/L of sodium), we could generate hypotonicity, given that we would be replacing only the liquid while the concentration of sodium in our blood would gradually become diluted,” states Del Coso.

Sports drinks are designed to replace lost liquids and electrolytes in sport, but even the best on the market only have a sodium concentration of around 20 mEq/L, approximately half of that lost through sweat.

Flavour or performance

For experts, there is a balance between what is considered physiologically recommendable and that which is economically profitable in the world of sports drinks.

“Despite sports drinks companies knowing that including more sodium in the drinks would be more beneficial to maintain the balance of fluids and electrolytes during exercise, a greater concentration of sodium would also make the drink have a more salty taste and would reduce the possibilities of succeeding in a market where flavour is key to obtaining good sales figures,” says the researcher.

However, in long-distance tests in which large quantities of drinks are ingested to avoid dehydration (marathons, long-distance triathlons, ultra-resistance competitions, etc.) rehydration with these specialized drinks may not be sufficient to maintain the concentration of salt in the body fluids.

“It may be necessary to eat food that contains high amounts of salt, such as fruits or nuts, or even salt capsules to reduce the effect of the loss of electrolytes on physical performance,” he concludes.

Story Source:

The above story is based on materials provided by Plataforma SINC. Note: Materials may be edited for content and length.

The purpose of strengthen our immune system is to protect us
from all kind of diseases, including bacteria.

As a start, avoid any unnecessary use of medications, especially
antibiotics and any unnecessary contact with hospitals and
medical facilities.

There are three strategies you can use to strengthen your immune
system. The first one is P’au D’Arco tea.
This is a traditional South American herbal remedy made from
the inner bark of the purple lapacho tree. It is used there against
a large variety of infections. In the 1960’s they extracted a chemical
from the purple lapacho, called naphtoquinone, which proved to
have strong anti-viral, anti-bacterial and anti-fungal actions.

Watch for false P’au D’arcos sold on the herbal market.
Only the Argentinian product is effective.

The second strategy is a simple amino acid.Strong immunity
requires a lot of glutamine. Ornithine alpha-ketoglutarate (OKG)
will provide this. It is stable and doesn’t rase body ammonia levels.

The third strategy is ion exchange whey protein concentrate.
THis is a powerful immune booster. Look for a protein drink
of which the main ingredient is wey protein concentrate.

Drink clean water.
Most of our drinking water is now contaminated with over
60,000 man-made chemicals, that pollute our groundwater.
Use a good quality alkaline filter.

Limit your Alcohol Intake.
It has been proven that some alcohol protect against cardio
and reduces the effects of stress.
Drink no more than two glasses of wine or beer or two singles
of spirits per day.

Eat an Alkaline Diet.
Acidity has become a disorder in Australia. that causes many
diseases. Look at www.nutrobalance.com and read about the
Alkaline/Acid Food Theory.

Use the “Eating Right Pyramid” as the basis for your diet.
Eat mainly grains and cereals, followed by vegetables and fruits.
Use meat,eggs, fish & dairy products as optional and kept to
15 – 20% of your daily calories. Use fats,oils & sweets sparingly.

Eat a Wide Variety of Foods, to give you the best change to
get all the necessary nutrients.

Take Daily Supplements to obtain optimum health and to
protect yourself against degraded and contaminated foods,
polluted water and air, which will get a lot worse before it will
get better.

Take a complete multi-mineral & antioxidant and some
organic flax seed oil.

Eat a Low Salt Diet.
Excess use of sodium causes hypertension and increase the
risk of stomach cancer and osteoporosis.Take a potassium
based salt substitute on the table and in cooking.

Reduce your Sugar Intake.
Refined sugar causes obesity, tooth decay, metabolic & cardiac
abnormalities and also increase the risk of adult-onset diabetes.
Use a little fructose or Stevia, which is a natural sweetener made
of the leafs of the Stevia rebaudiana and is sweeter than sucrose.

Eat Organic, Unprocessed foods.
I have mentioned the degraded & contaminated nature of foods
grown with NPK fertilizers and foods processed for mass production.
They fail to provide essential nutrients and do more harm than good.

Your body has to rob its own tissues of essential nutrients to use
in absorption and metabolism of any refined food.

Avoid Red Meats
The number of colon cancer cases in America has exceeded
150,000 in 1990, ten times as many as in Eastern nations.

Dr. Walter Willett at the Harvard University has shown with a
clinical trial of 88,751 women, that eating beef, pork or lamb
daily can cause a 250% increase of risk of colon cancer.
Red meat consumption is now also linked to prostate cancer
in a new study of 14,916 physicians.

Avoid Processed Meats, like pickled, salt-cured,smoked,
nitrated or charcoal-cooked meats, which contain potent
carcinogens. Don’t eat them. At the barbecue, don’t allow
the meat to char and cut off any charred pieces.

Except from the two things we can be certain of in life: death and taxes,
there is a third most of us can count on, which is arthritis.
It effects nearly 70% – 80% of the population over the age of fifty.

The most common type is called: osteoarthritis or degenerative
arthritis, which is an inflammatory disease.
Symptoms are:early morning stiffness, swollen joints and joint pain
over the entire body. In an advanced state, it can cause significant
pain, discomfort and even disability.

Osteoarthritis is caused by degeneration of the cartilage in the joints
or the lining of the joints. The cartilage can worn out completely by
mechanical stress, caused by excessive weight, trauma or activity.

The end of our bones is covered by articular cartilage. Our joints
have additional cartilage that act like a shock absorber between
the bones. Old cartilage breaks down, while new cartilage is formed.
This process has to be kept in balance in order to keep healthy joints.

There are several causes of inflammation in our joints.
The cytokins are among the leading causes. These are proteins
who carry messages between cells and regulate immunity and
inflamation. Two of the most important ones are:
tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF- a) and interleukin one beta (IL-B).
They are highly concentrated in the joints of people with osteoarthritis.

The second group are the proteases, enzymes that cause the
breakdown of proteins. Proteases are under control of the cytokines.
Some have anti-inflammatory qualities and some have pro-
inflammatory qualities, which are in the majority with arthritis.

The third group are the phagocytes (or neutrophils), which are
attracted to the inflamed joint while trying to clear this reaction and
to prevent damage to the cartilage and lining of the joint.
But this inflammatory response can actually cause more inflammation
to the joint.

The pressure caused by our weight on our joints block the blood
supply to the cartilage. This phenomenon is called Ischemia.
When we take our weight of the joint, the pressure is reduced and
blood returns back to the cartilage, this is called reperfusion.

This process causes excessive production of free radicals.
These free radicals put heavy weight on the antioxidant defence
system and cause oxidative stress and consequently damage to
the cartilage and synovial lining of the joint. When the body can’t
rebuild cartilage fast enough, deterioration occurs.

Rheumatoid arthritis is another form of arthritis. This is an
autoimmune disease. When our immune system starts to attack
the cartilage and the synovial lining of the joint, an inflammatory
process starts to destroy healthy tissue.This not only create
excessive free radicals, but also attracts TNF-a cytokines.

Production of free radicals is five times higher in patients with
rheumatoid arthritis than in patients with osteoarthritis and causes
greater oxidative stress and damage to the joints.
This damaging effect can cause severe pain an deformity.

When considering traditional treatments, it is important to know
the real causes of these diseases.

The traditional treatment of both types of arthritis, called
nonsteroidal anti-inflammatories (NSAIDS) and aspirin, caused
severe side effects, like stomach ulcers and upper –
gastrointestinal bleeding (GI).

Because of this, pharmaceutical companies developed a group
of new NSAIDS , called COX 2 inhibitors, which significantly
reduced GI. Unfortunately, these have side effects as well, like
bowel perforation and upper GI bleeds, but less frequent.

These drugs mainly reduces the pain but do nothing about the
basic cause of the disease, which is oxidative stress.

Apart from a well balanced, high quality mineral and antioxidant
supplement patients suffering from arthritis should also take
glucosamine sulfate, which is one of the basic nutrients for the
synthesis of cartilage.

It is a simple amino sugar and gives the cartilage its elasticity.
Unlike NSAIDS and aspirin, which only reduces the pain,
glucosamine helps to rebuild the damaged cartilage.

In 1999 a large study revealed that glucosamine not only
reduced the pain and inflammation of arthritis, but actually
stopped the deterioration of the cartilage and even showed
evidence of cartilage regrowth, without any side effects.

Another important advantage was that the pain didn’t return
for weeks and even months!

Chondrotin sulfate is often combined with glucosamine in order
to make the cartilage more pliable and spongy, as chondrotin
attracts water into the cartilage. Without it, the cartilage becomes
drier and more fragile.

Cellular nutrition is the key to prevent arthritis. This is another
area in which nutritional supplements work together with your
body to maintain or regain your health.

Mar. 4, 2015 — The effectiveness of salt on sports performance in triathletes has been evaluated by researchers. The athletes who added this supplement to their usual hydration routines during the competition took

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